Category: Mobile Services

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The young and ambitious startup Nextbit launched a forward-thinking cloud sync and backup service for Android called Baton. The new service aims to integrate deeply into the OS and allow users to easily switch devices by seamlessly syncing their apps and data.

In addition to syncing data into the cloud, Baton users will be able to push the current state of any open application to another Android device. Read more »

Google has announced a big update for its Play Music service. First off, the Android and iOS apps have received a new, Material Design-infused coat of paint. Second, the service now brings you contextual music stations.

These have apparently been “hand crafted” by a team of music experts, including DJs, musicians, music critics, and ethnomusicologists, to give you exactly the songs you need for a particular moment. Read more »

But the app was in testing only on Samsung’s smartphones even despite the leaked apk file that allowed us all to sideload the HERE navigation on non-Galaxy smartphones. Now that’s about to change – Nokia is releasing the apk for all Android smartphones so you can try HERE maps for yourself. Read more »

Apple’s NFC-based new mobile payment initiative will start rolling out on Monday, October 20. The information was made official at the company’s event today, during which it’s expected to also announce the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. Interestingly, that’s the exact date that has been rumored at the beginning of the month.

Apple Pay was unveiled during the big iPhone 6 announcement in September. Since then, Apple has managed to bring in 500 more banks to support its service. Read more »

This sure took a while, but Facebook is now officially the owner of WhatsApp. The social network agreed to buy the mobile messaging service on February 20, shocking the tech world by offering $19 billion for that privilege.

All the regulatory hurdles have now been cleared, so WhatsApp is finally part of Facebook. Read more »

Last week we heard Facebook will get the approval of the European Commission for the Whatsapp deal and today this has been officially confirmed. The Commission gave the green light for the $19 billion dollar acquisition of the Whatsapp messaging service after US regulators gave it a thumbs up, too.

The European Commission reasoned that Facebook’s Messenger platform and Whatsapp are not close competitors and that competition is sufficient even after the merger. Read more »

Nokia had previously announced its plans to release a version of HERE Maps for Android, but only for Samsung devices for now. Although the app is yet to officially release, somebody managed to get their hands on the APK and unsurprisingly, it works on any Android device running 4.0 and above.

Nokia HERE Maps is a fully featured navigation utility, and has all the features, including turn by turn voice navigation. It also has something unique, where you can download maps for entire cities, which can then be used offline or in areas with no network. Read more »

Many months ago in February, Facebook made some big news when it announced plans to acquire successful messaging company WhatsApp for a mind-melting $19 billion. But the deal still has to be approved by regulatory agencies across the world, including the EU’s competition authority. That apparently shouldn’t concern Facebook, as the EU is rumored to give it the go-ahead “unconditionally”.

That means the company won’t have to make any concessions and the deal will simply be approved as is, since Facebook reportedly managed to convince the European Commission that it would have no anticompetitive effect. The information allegedly comes from “two people familiar with the matter”. Read more »

The fallout of the massive iCloud hacking scandal that leaked numerous private photos of female celebrities is is surely yet to play out.

And although Apple has taken the matter very seriously and is still investigating how their iCloud servers were compromised – if that is what, in fact, happened – Apple CEO Tim Cook has issued an open letter assuring the company’s commitment to user privacy. Read more »

Today during its big event, Apple didn’t only introduce new hardware. There was another big thing announced, and that is Apple Pay.

This is the company’s own interpretation of a mobile-based payments system. It works with the NFC capability built into the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, alongside the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. It will even support the Apple Watch when that will be out. Read more »